Knitting keeps me grounded, distracted, happy and productive. Being fast just helps me support my habit ... I knit like everyone else, one stitch at a time and I love each and every one of them.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

De Beads Boss, De Beads!

Butterfly calls for beads so it was with a giddy kind of pleasure that I got out my mini bead spinner and spun some beads.

Beads in the Spinner

Beads caught on the Hook

Beads on the Yarn

I can't even begin to tell you what a great little tool this is! If you have to string beads for knitting with you need a spinner. They come in larger sizes for larger beads and/or greater amounts of beads. I purchased mine from The Beadspinner Lady and am very happy. Once you get one you will look for patterns that call for beads just so that you can use it. OMG Daunte!! Which team are you playing for? How did you think that your receiver was going to catch that through 2!!! Bills?!? ffsSo, here is my Butterfly swatch. The beads don't show up very well so I will have to think about if I'm going to try a different colour (I can get some at the CSNF) or whether I'll just leave them out altogether. I know, it's so much fun to spin them but if they don't make a significant impact ... that and the challenge that placing them randomly throughout seems to be posing for me. I'm really not very good at being deliberately random. I'm very good at accidental haphazardness and forgetful flukiness is a specialty, but planning random? Uh, nope.

I also don't know how I managed to succesfully complete Flirty Ruffles in 16 days and later do a Tina Shawl. The most basic lace patterns seem to kick my ass - and I don't mean with a soft, fluffy pillow either. We're talking steel-toed, size 16 boot kickin'. The Lacy Scallop socks are littered with next-row corrections and it took me the entire Butterfly swatch to get this 8 row pattern down pat. And it's not even really 8 rows - it's a 4 row pattern off-set. To make matters even trickier, I managed to knit fluff and not notice till the swatch was done. I know, better late than never, but still ...